(SHAYD Thuh-LOR-ee-uhn)
Nickname: Shay
Role in Story Universe: member of the main cast of the Ashes of Aekos series.
First Appearance: Book One – Ashes of Desire
Profession: acting Crown Prince; only known living heir to the royal bloodline of Aekos
Class: Civica – via a black-market ICICLE chip and tattoo
Race: Aekosi
Physical Description: honey-brown eyes that radiate quiet intensity beneath a tousled crown of nearly black hair, kept short but always a bit unruly. His pale skin carries the signature silver undertones of his Aekosi blood, a subtle shimmer that catches the light. A trim beard—fuller than stubble but not quite rugged—frames a strong jaw. Standing at 6’2″, his athletic build is sculpted with defined muscle, lean and powerful without the bulk. Regal in bearing but grounded in presence, Shayde carries himself with the kind of restraint that hints at coiled strength beneath the surface.
Age: approximately 225 years old
Key Relationships: son of King Basilius and Queen Gaia. Blood brother of Daerion. Brother to Eryndor and Maeleigh via adoption.
Backstory: Born twenty-five years after the capture of the Crown Prince, Shayde entered the world as a living reminder of what had been lost. Intended as a “replacement” heir, he grew up in the long shadow of his older brother, Daerion—whose name still lingered like a ghost through the halls of the compound. Though everyone noted how much Shayde resembled his brother, the comparison was rarely offered as a compliment. Instead, it deepened the unspoken belief that he could never measure up. Even his father, the king, seldom spoke his name—an omission that carved a quiet ache into Shayde’s sense of identity. Raised to lead, but never truly seen, Shayde learned to wear duty-like armor. Yet beneath that polished surface lives a man constantly searching for his own worth… not just as a prince, but as someone who longs to be chosen for who he is, not who he was meant to replace.